Brady: Schools should consider holding off on teacher pay raises

SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. Bill Brady, the Republican candidate
for governor, is taking heat from a teachers union over suggestions
that school districts could consider foregoing teacher pay
raises.

While questioned by reporters in recent weeks, Brady said his
proposed cuts to the state budget would mean schools will see less
money from the state.

“Local school districts could absorb that by maybe not offering
the pay raises that they put in place,” Brady said Wednesday at a
Springfield event.

“Let’s face it, the private sector’s gone without a pay raise,
and in many cases pay cuts, over the last four years,” Brady
said.

Illinois Federation of Teachers spokesman Dave Comerford said
teachers already are dealing with threats of layoffs because the
state is months behind in sending money to local schools.

Competitive salaries, Comerford said, are critical to keep
teachers in the classroom instead of leaving the profession.

“And yet now we’re saying we want you to take massive pay cuts?”
Comerford said.

Brady has proposed cutting state spending by

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10 percent but hasn’t given a detailed description of what he
would like to cut.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has proposed a

33 percent income tax increase to pay for school spending, but
his plan wouldn’t raise enough money to solve the state’s entire
$13 billion deficit.

Brady points out that while he would cut the amount of money the
state promises to schools, local districts already are going
without what’s promised because the state is so far behind in
paying its bills. Under his plan, Brady said, school districts
could better plan their budgets because they would actually get
what’s promised.

“School districts can decide that we’re going to buckle up in
these difficult economic times and we’re going to live within our
means as well without increasing property taxes,” Brady told
reporters.